Entrepreneurship Training Program

Calling all Dairy-Preneurs!

Are you an innovator, entrepreneur, university student, researcher, industrialist, SME or NGO? Are you working on Dairy Value Chain solutions in the dairy, ICT, or bio/nano technologies industries?

Berytech and ELCIM at IRI have issued a call for applications to select 20 candidates for admission to the Entrepreneurship Training Program under the TRANSDAIRY project, financed by the programme ENI CBC “Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme 2014-2020”.

Applications are open till June 30, 2021.

Entrepreneurship Training Program in Brief

As part of the Transdairy Living Lab activities, a series of Entrepreneurship Training sessions will be implemented aiming at building capacity for innovators, entrepreneurs and key enabling technology providers (KET) within the Dairy Value Chain sector.

We are looking for “Dairy-Preneurs” who have a business idea or project that can contribute to resolving one of the many addressed challenges in the Dairy sector in Lebanon and contribute to this sector’s innovation and sustainability.

  • Challenges on the Supply & Farming level: Such as poor hygiene & cleaning care systems, poor milk preserving practices on small farms level, lack of local production of feed & drugs, lack of technology equipment & software to increase cattle and small ruminants’ life span & productivity, etc.
  • Challenges on the Processing level: Such as the heating and pasteurizing increased costs due to low quality milk supply, fluctuations of processed cheese quality due to varying qualities of milk supply, high electricity costs, etc.
  • Challenges on the Quality Control level: Such as the lack of qualitative analysis of milk & of the dairy end products, non-compliant storage conditions on the suppliers/retailers level etc.
  • Challenges on the Packaging level: Such as the high costs of imported packaging, the lack of recyclable/reusable packaging solutions, poor packaging conditions which may impact product quality, etc.
  • Challenges on the levels of Storage & Distribution, Export, Marketing & Communication, etc.

Entrepreneurship Training

For 20 potential Dairy-Preneurs

Vouchers

€200 voucher to use for the initiation of the project

Open Day & Networking

Participating in the Transdairy Open Day

Key Benefits & opportunities for participating Dairy-Preneurs

Access to the Entrepreneurship Training that is fully funded by the EU under the ENI CBC Med Programme

  • Receiving a set of entrepreneurship skills and know-how by top notch experts, including technical and practical guidance, developing a business model, developing market and commercialization strategies, learning about intellectual property, technology protection, technical applications in the Dairy Value Chain, funding opportunities, prototyping, and pitching
  • Receiving a €200 voucher to use in a way that supports the initiation of the project (such as creating a prototype, design & marketing, business consultancy etc.)
  • Participating in the Transdairy Open Day event to pitch the solutions, exhibit, and network with industry experts and potential investors

Access to the TRANSDAIRY regional online collaborative platform which features a database of Dairy Value Chain regional demand and offer and allows communication and networking among regional innovators, suppliers, partners, prospective clients, etc.

Invitation to participate and benefit from the subsequent TRANSDAIRY activities for 2021 and 2022, which include:

  • Cross Border Brokerage Events (matching innovators with innovation seekers on a regional level)
  • Specialized Trainings on innovation management, benchmarking, technology transfer etc.
  • Call for cross-border spin-off establishments in the Dairy Value Chain with 10,000 € vouchers

TRANSDAIRY aims to enhance the technological transfer among research, industry and SMEs in the fields of Key Enabling Technologies applied to the Dairy Value Chain

Selection Criteria

We are calling for researchers, innovators, scientists, engineers, technicians, industrialists, students, instructors and professors who fit the following profile:

  • Individual participants must be resident in Lebanon
  • Preference for women, participants under 35 years old, students, farmers, holders of experience in the Dairy Value Chain
  • Participants must have an idea, innovation or research project addressing the Dairy Value Chain opportunities
    • The project should have an activity in Lebanon. If the entity is set, its legal entity must have an operative seat in Lebanon or a demonstrable activity in the Dairy Value Chain in Lebanon 
    • Project ideas should demonstrate economic viability and combine innovation, sustainability and potential for scalability
    • Projects should have at least a proof of concept (a realization of a certain method or idea in order to demonstrate that the concept or theory has practical potential)

The Program's Timeline

Intensive Bootcamp

July 2021 | 3:30pm – 7:00pm

20 participants will be selected to participate in a 6-day intensive virtual bootcamp. The bootcamp’s program consists of fully funded sessions by the EU under the ENI CBC Med Programme, providing the participants with a set of entrepreneurship skills and know-how, and access to:

  • Receive technical and practical guidance and interaction with experts
  • Develop their own business model 
  • Learn about intellectual property 
  • Develop their commercialisation and market strategy
  • Develop a process for technology protection
  • Learn about basic financial modelling and funding opportunities
  • Address sustainability and CSR practices in the Dairy Value Chain
  • Prepare their pitch to present it to experts and potential investors

The participants will also each receive a voucher of €200 to use in a way that serves the initiation of their project (such as creating a prototype, design & marketing, business consultancy, etc.).

Pitching

July 2021 | During the Open Day

A Pitching session will be scheduled during the TRANSDAIRY Open Day and dedicated to the 20 participants who joined the Entrepreneurship Training Program. 

Those participants will have an opportunity to pitch their solutions to a panel of experts and receive professional feedback. They will also have the opportunity to virtually exhibit their solutions and network with DVC experts and potential investors.

APPLY TO THE PROGRAM BEFORE JUNE 30, 2021

Please be as detailed and explicit as possible, and if you need assistance please email patil.mesrobian@berytech.org

START YOUR APPLICATION

This Call for application is implemented by Berytech and ELCIM at Industrial Research Institute (IRI), representing the Lebanese Partners for the TRANSDAIRY Project. The entrepreneurship trainings will be implemented by both Partners in Lebanon in parallel with similar trainings that will be held within the regional partners’ countries: Tunisia, Greece and Italy.

TRANSDAIRY PROJECT

TRANSDAIRY is a project funded by the European Union under the ENI CBC Med Programme to grow innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities in the Dairy Value Chain and empower this ecosystem in the Mediterranean. The project will use the open innovation and living lab methodology to bring stakeholders together including researchers, industry players, SMEs, representatives from the public sector, entrepreneurs, to exchange best practices, collaborate together and implement Key Enabling Technologies and solutions applied to the Dairy Value Chain.

Throughout this project, Berytech and ELCIM at Industrial Research Institute (IRI) will be facilitating the setup of Innovation Living Labs, supporting the development and financing of innovation and entrepreneurship projects, and enable matchmaking and collaboration opportunities between different stakeholders in the Dairy Value Chain in Lebanon and the Mediterranean. Learn more  here.

The Project In Numbers

  • Duration: 30 months

  • The total budget of the project is €3.8 million with an EU contribution of €3.4 million (90%).

  • Main source of funding: European Union (ENI CBC Med Programme)

Need more info?

If you have any questions about the Transdairy Program, please contact: